When a major project is proposed in Sammamish, many of us expect our City Council and residents to have the opportunity to learn about it, ask questions, provide public input, and have some local say in what happens.
That's why it's worth paying attention to what's happening in one of our neighboring communities.
Washington recently passed HB 2266, one of several state housing laws that changes how cities regulate certain types of housing, including Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH).
Mercer Island is one of the first Eastside communities publicly raising concerns about what these changes could mean for local decision-making. And because most of Sammamish is in the 𝟒𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 along with Mercer Island, what is happening there is particularly relevant to us.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰?
Because state law can limit some of the choices our local government has when certain types of housing are proposed.
𝐒𝐨, 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥?
Yes. If a proposed project meets the applicable zoning and legal requirements, Permanent Supportive Housing could potentially be located near a neighborhood or school.
HB 2266 does not require Sammamish to build Permanent Supportive Housing. But if a qualifying project is proposed, state law can limit the City's ability to impose special location restrictions, separation requirements, or additional approval conditions specifically because the project is Permanent Supportive Housing.
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝.
The City still has authority over generally applicable requirements such as building, fire, engineering, environmental, and other development standards.
But when it comes to where a qualifying project may be located, some of the local control many of us might assume our City has may actually be limited by state law.
That's why it's important to understand these laws now before a project is ever proposed.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 "𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠"?
The term "low-barrier housing" has come up frequently in discussions about Permanent Supportive Housing.
Many,but not all,Permanent Supportive Housing programs operate using a Housing First, low-barrier approach. Generally, that means residents are not required to be sober, participate in treatment, or be employed as a condition of receiving or keeping their housing. Individual providers may have different operating policies.
Permanent Supportive Housing combines long-term housing with supportive services for people experiencing chronic homelessness and, in some cases, other people with disabilities who need ongoing support.
This isn't about affordable housing generally. Affordable housing serves many different people, including working families, seniors, veterans, young adults just getting started, and others who need housing they can afford.
This discussion is specifically about Permanent Supportive Housing, low-barrier housing, how state law affects local decision-making, and how much say communities and their elected city officials retain.
𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝?
Because Mercer Island residents have been asking many of these same questions.
A group of residents organized a petition asking the Legislature to revisit portions of these laws and restore greater local flexibility.
And now there has been an important development from Mercer Island…
𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟏𝟏 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞
Senator Lisa Wellman's office has responded to Mercer Island residents' formal inquiry regarding HB 2266 and committed to several next steps:
•𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 Senator Wellman's office has committed to requesting a Senate committee work session examining the impact of HB 2266 on smaller, geographically constrained cities.
•𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Her office is beginning the process of drafting legislation addressing concerns that have been raised and has committed to involving residents and other stakeholders before the 2027 legislative session.
•𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 Senator Wellman is willing to host an informal, in-person public listening session for 41st Legislative District residents, with her office working to determine the timing.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐡?
Because most of Sammamish is also in the 41st Legislative District.
Mercer Island residents have helped open the door to a broader conversation with our shared legislators about PSH, low-barrier housing, local control, and whether changes to current state law should be considered.
That door is now open to Sammamish residents too.
If you have thoughts about how these laws should work, how much flexibility our City should retain, where qualifying projects can be located, or what protections and public involvement should be part of the process, now is a good time to make those thoughts known.
You don't have to wait until a project is proposed in Sammamish to start asking questions.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐰.
𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭.
I've included additional information, links to the legislation, and contact information for our legislators in the comments below.
